Nix (Digital Release) Review

3 star emotional creature feature.

Nix is a 2022 psychological horror, written  and directed by Anthony C. Ferrante (Sharknado, Forgotten Evil).

With it’s basis in German folklore, this new horror is available to own on Digital Platforms from 31st October 2022 (just in time for Halloween!), courtesy of Central City Media.

“You’re not their babysitter Jack. They’re grown ups. One day you’re going to have to start living your own life.”

As the film open, in ‘the past’, we see the Coyle family. Donna (Emily Killian – The Chosen) and her husband Richard (Michael DeVorzon – Megaboa) are taking their three children on a camping trip to Living Springs Lake. Their oldest son Lucas (Aidan Rhys) is ruthlessly teasing his sister Tessa (Angelina Karo – Righteous Blood) as usual, while younger brother Jack (Ethan Fletcher Daly – Still Pitching) films everything on his hand held camera.

Things take a turn for the worse when Lucas throws a baseball into the lake and tells Tessa to fetch it. At first she refuses, but eventually goes back alone. She encounters a strange woman who tries to shoo her away and then, in what is arguably the biggest overreaction in history, summons some sort of monster (the Nix) from the lake. Tessa disappears and by the time the family get home, Richard is gone too.

Fast forward to ‘the present’ and we see the family now, still weighed down by the grief of that day. Lucas (Skyler Caleb – Forgotten, Clawed) has gone off the rails and is still living with Donna (Dee Wallace – E.T., Cujo) who refuses even to believe that Tessa is dead. The only one of the family who seems to be holding everything together is Jack (James Zimbardi – Awaken the Shadowman), will the help of good friend Liz (Angie Teodora Dick – The Undertaker’s Wife).

When Lucas’s daughter Zoe (Niesha Renee Guilbot – Christmas Lover’s Anonymous) comes to stay with them, old wounds are opened and strange things begin to happen. Is the Nix still hunting this unfortunate family?

“I’ve decided Zoe can stay in this room ’til Tessa comes back.”

Nix is an interesting film. It tries to examine the subject of grief and loss and the effects it can have on generations of a family. Using a creature feature to accomplish this is a wierd choice but it works for the most part. The acting is pretty good, but perhaps a bit overdone in places and the character interactions don’t always seem believable.

Where this film does stand out is the creature itself. It’s genuinely scary, the effects are really good and it is seen in broad daylight so we can get a good look it, which is bold and quite unusual.

All in all, it’s an enjoyable watch, very suitable for Halloween viewing and an important cautionary tale against poking a stick into somebody elses lake.

“We’ve hired private investigators. We’ve spent money we don’t have. It’s time we moved on.”

Nix is released Digitally on 31st October 2022.